October 28, 2026 – Victoria, British Columbia – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces
The Canadian Defence Academy hosted the 28th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum Heads of Defence Universities, Colleges, Institutions Meeting in Victoria, British Columbia, from October 20 to 23, 2026.
As a founding member of the ASEAN Regional Forum, Canada demonstrated its commitment to strengthening relationships with regional partners and supporting a free, open, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific by serving as host nation for the first time. The conference was co-hosted with the Philippines, reflecting the collaborative spirit that underpins the forum.
The annual meeting brought together senior leaders from professional military education institutions and defence organizations across the ASEAN Regional Forum to exchange perspectives, build relationships, and advance cooperation.
Delegations from ASEAN member states and other Regional Forum participating countries discussed professional military education, regional security challenges, leadership development, and opportunities for enhanced cooperation.
Hosting the meeting advanced Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and defence diplomacy objectives by supporting sustained engagement in the region, recognizing ASEAN’s central role in regional security, and building relationships with key partners.
Quotes
“The Canadian Defence Academy was honoured to host the 28th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum Heads of Defence Universities, Colleges, Institutions Meeting in Victoria, British Columbia. The open and constructive discussions throughout the forum highlighted the value of professional military education in building relationships, trust, and regional stability.”
Major-General Jeannot Boucher, Commander, Canadian Defence Academy
Quick facts
Canada is a founding member of the ASEAN Regional Forum and has participated in Heads of Defence Universities, Colleges, Institutions Meeting for many years. Canada co-hosted the 2025 edition of the meeting in Cambodia in preparation for hosting in 2026.
Canada welcomed the Philippines as co-host for the 2026 forum, ahead of its role as host nation in 2027.
The ASEAN Regional Forum provides an important opportunity for defence universities, colleges, and institutes to exchange perspectives on emerging security challenges and share best practices in professional military education.
Noah Note: Always love to see the ASEAN folks get mentioned around here. They really are our little untapped area of collaboration. While there has been some great effort the last decade to try and expand cooperation with the rest of our Pacific partners, we are still relatively new to the scene as a consistant player.
Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy might have set out the mandate, but we've had to start from a place as a relative distant partner, Pacific but not Pacific, if that sorta makes sense a bit. There have been healthy relationshios mind you with the ASEAN states, such as the Phillipines and Singapore, but its been fleeting and not universal.
That has changed in recent years as we look to diversify our trading relationships and build up new security partnerships. We signed new strategic partnerships with both Indoensia and Vietnam in the last year, continue to support partners like the Phillipines theough things like the Dark Vessel Detection Program and Maritime Surveillance, and are reportedly close to completing the Canada-ASEAN FTA.
Sky's the limit, as they say. I would love to see a lot more done.